KUALA LUMPUR (March 8): Malaysia remains hopeful that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 would be found in the 120,000 square kilometre area under investigation by the end of search period later this year, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“If it is not, then Malaysia, Australia and China will hold a tripartite meeting to determine the way forward,” said Najib in a statement on the second anniversary of the disappearance of MH370.

He said the current search operation led by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau in the southern Indian Ocean is expected to be completed later this year.

“Today, we mark the second anniversary of the disappearance of flight MH370. We mourn the loss of the 239 people, including 50 Malaysians, who were on board.

“We remain committed to doing everything within our means to solving what is an agonising mystery for the loved ones of those who were lost.

“On this most difficult of days, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who will never be forgotten,” he said.

On March 8, 2014, Beijing-bound flight MH370, carrying 239 people, took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 12.35am before it lost contact with the air traffic control (ATC) at 1.19am over South China Sea.

After allegedly disappearing from the ATC radar, the Boeing 777-200ER is said to have turned around, deviating from its flight path and journeyed over the Andaman Sea before signal with the satellites are lost over the Indian Ocean.

“The disappearance of MH370 was without precedent, and the search has been the most challenging in aviation history.

“Amidst some of the world’s most inhospitable terrain – at depths of up to six kilometres, across underwater mountain ranges, and in the world’s fastest currents – the search team have been working tirelessly to find MH370’s resting place. We are grateful for their efforts,” he said.

Najib reaffirmed the discovery of debris, a plane’s flaperon, on the island of Reunion in July last year provided evidence to his annnouncement on March 24, 2014 that MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

“But we know that neither the passage of time, nor this evidence, will comfort those whose grief cannot be assuaged,” he added.